Do you believe that you could ever become so jaded with the opposite sex, that you would choose a computer operating systems over the warm inviting touch of another human being? Well, Spike Jonze explores this very quandary with the  release of “Her”, a quasi-sci-fi love story of the virtual kind. Theodore Twombley (Joaquin Phoenix), a professional writer of letters, finds himself going through one of the most difficult things he’s ever faced–divorce. Realizing that he has no earthly clue why his marriage has ended, he withdraws from the game of life, merely ceasing to exist with work and evening virtual video games. Twombley learns of a virtual computer operating system, deemed OS, that is designed to ‘be your friend’.

From the moment he hears Samantha’s (Scarlett Johansson’s) voice (the name the OS gives itself), he is hooked. ‘Samantha’ understands him and listens to him and makes him feel strong, all the feelings that a ‘real’ relationship should evoke. In four little words, ‘the two fall in love’. Twombley and Samantha’s relationship is as real to the both of them as anything they’ve ever experienced, and at the core of Jonze’ message, and yes I think there is message, he shows that all relationships change–whether between two human beings or a human being and an operating system, and that the one thing that we all can count on is–relationships change. ‘Her’ is a beautiful movie, and Joaquin Phoenix does a superb job as the affable Twombley, he truly makes us wonder–what helps make and keep a relationship real and sustainable? And he also shows us that we should never give up looking for love, because we all deserve to love and be loved as we desire.